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Journalism of Courage
A day after a private TV channel and a vernacular weekly showed visuals claiming them to be of popular spiritual leader Paramahamsa Nithyananda with a film actress of yesteryears,his ashrams,statues and even posters were targeted by angry protesters.
A group of advocates in Chennai and Coimbatore approached the police commissioners in the cities with the demand that the police book the godman under criminal charges even as his organisation blamed conspiracy,graphics and rumour for the controversy.
The controversy began on Tuesday when Sun News aired video clippings that showed the godman allegedly in a compromising position with the actress. The Nakkeeran weekly followed up with screenshots and news in its latest issue that hit stands on Wednesday.
The video enraged fringe Hindu outfits like Hindu Makkal Katchi and atheistic Dravidar Kazhagam alike,both attacking the properties managed by Nithyananda Dhyanapeetam in their boroughs of strength.
While the former demanded action against Nithyananda for bringing disrepute to religion,the latter raised similar demands for duping people. Protests were staged across the state,including in Tiruvannamalai,Namakkal,Coimbatore and Salem.
Meanwhile,the Dhyanapeetam issued a statement stating that the ‘defamatory’ video was a mix of conspiracy,graphics and rumour. “We are working on a legal course of action and will come up with updates in due course,” said the statement.
